Date: August 21, 2025 | Venue: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C. | Attendance: 72,110 | Broadcast: NFL Network, KDKA-TV | Records: Pittsburgh 2-1 (preseason), Carolina 0-3 (preseason)
Pittsburgh beat Carolina 19-10 in the 2025 preseason finale at Bank of America Stadium on August 21, though first-round defensive end Derrick Harmon was carted off in the second quarter with a knee injury later confirmed by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport as an MCL sprain. Skylar Thompson went 11-of-13 for 152 yards and a touchdown at a 141.0 passer rating in relief of Mason Rudolph, and Ben Sauls went 4-of-4 on field goal attempts with a long of 50 yards. Carolina, which held out Bryce Young and Andy Dalton, dropped to 0-3 and was outscored 69-23 across three preseason games.
James Mitchell 7-yd TD pass from Jack Plummer (Ryan Fitzgerald XP)
12 plays, 78 yds, 5:30
PIT 7 – CAR 10
Q2
0:00
PIT
Ben Sauls 38-yd FG
2 plays, 53 yds, 0:17
PIT 10 – CAR 10
Q3
5:07
PIT
Ben Sauls 50-yd FG
10 plays, 8 yds, 5:19
PIT 13 – CAR 10
Q4
13:45
PIT
Ben Sauls 49-yd FG
8 plays, 49 yds, 3:18
PIT 16 – CAR 10
Q4
6:21
PIT
Ben Sauls 28-yd FG
6 plays, 46 yds, 2:37
PIT 19 – CAR 10
Team Stats
Category
Pittsburgh
Carolina
Total Yards
325
255
Total Plays
45
63
Yards Per Play
7.2
4.0
Passing Yards
226
84
Completions/Attempts
21/27
17/25
Yards Per Pass
8.4
3.0
Sacks – Yards Lost
0–0
3–35
Rushing Yards
99
171
Rushing Attempts
18
35
Yards Per Rush
5.5
4.9
1st Downs
15
21
— Passing
10
9
— Rushing
3
9
— Penalty
2
3
3rd Down Efficiency
4/9 (44%)
9/16 (56%)
4th Down Efficiency
0/0
0/0
Red Zone (Made-Att)
0/2
1/2
Turnovers
1
2
Fumbles Lost
0
1
Interceptions Thrown
1
1
Penalties
13–104
7–73
Time of Possession
25:02
34:58
Pittsburgh Steelers Player Stats
Passing
Aaron Rodgers sat out; Rudolph started and threw an interception before Thompson took over in the second quarter.
Player
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
RTG
Skylar Thompson
11/13
152
11.7
1
0
0–0
141.0
Logan Woodside
4/6
38
6.3
0
0
0–0
84.0
Mason Rudolph
6/8
36
4.5
0
1
0–0
43.8
Team
21/27
226
8.4
1
1
0–0
98.5
Rushing
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
Trey Sermon
4
39
9.8
0
30
Kaleb Johnson
5
24
4.8
0
8
Lew Nichols
2
14
7.0
0
9
Evan Hull
2
9
4.5
0
8
Kenneth Gainwell
2
7
3.5
0
5
Mason Rudolph
1
3
3.0
0
3
Jaylen Warren
2
3
1.5
0
3
Team
18
99
5.5
0
30
Receiving
Player
REC
TGT
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
Scotty Miller
3
3
82
27.3
0
53
Lance McCutcheon
3
4
52
17.3
1
24
Ke’Shawn Williams
2
3
31
15.5
0
16
Lew Nichols
3
4
21
7.0
0
23
Trey Sermon
3
4
14
4.7
0
9
Jaylen Warren
2
2
12
6.0
0
12
Pat Freiermuth
2
2
6
3.0
0
5
Max Hurleman
1
1
4
4.0
0
4
Evan Hull
1
1
2
2.0
0
2
Kaleb Johnson
1
1
2
2.0
0
2
JJ Galbreath
0
1
—
—
0
—
Team
21
26
226
10.8
1
53
Carolina Panthers Player Stats
Passing
Young and Dalton both sat out; Plummer started before recently signed Bryce Perkins took over in the second half and absorbed all three Pittsburgh sacks.
Player
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
RTG
Bryce Perkins
10/11
71
6.5
0
0
3–35
93.6
Jack Plummer
7/14
48
3.4
1
1
0–0
52.1
Team
17/25
84
4.8
1
1
3–35
75.3
Rushing
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
Raheem Blackshear
11
35
3.2
0
17
Emani Bailey
9
31
3.4
0
14
Bryce Perkins
2
28
14.0
0
15
Trevor Etienne
3
26
8.7
0
28
Jack Plummer
2
22
11.0
0
18
David Moore
1
19
19.0
0
19
Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams
7
10
1.4
0
7
Team
35
171
4.9
0
28
Receiving
Individual receiving totals are gross figures; Carolina’s net passing yards (84) reflect 35 yards deducted for three sacks.
Player
REC
TGT
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
Dominique Dafney
2
2
21
10.5
0
13
T.J. Luther
1
1
15
15.0
0
15
Jimmy Horn Jr.
1
1
13
13.0
0
13
Jacolby George
1
1
12
12.0
0
12
Kobe Hudson
2
3
12
6.0
0
6
Bryce Pierre
1
1
11
11.0
0
11
Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams
2
2
10
5.0
0
8
Raheem Blackshear
2
2
8
4.0
0
7
James Mitchell
1
1
7
7.0
1
7
Ja’seem Reed
1
1
6
6.0
0
6
Hunter Renfrow
2
3
5
2.5
0
3
David Moore
0
1
—
—
0
—
Trevor Etienne
0
3
—
—
0
—
Emani Bailey
1
1
–1
–1.0
0
–1
Team
17
23
119
7.0
1
15
Defensive Stats
Pittsburgh Steelers Defense
Player
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Carson Bruener
7
5
0
0
0
0
Yahya Black
5
3
2
2
0
1
Jack Sawyer
5
3
0
2
0
1
Miles Killebrew
5
1
0
0
0
0
Malik Harrison
4
3
0
1
0
0
Quindell Johnson
4
2
0
0
0
0
Jalen Ramsey
3
3
0
0
0
0
DeMarvin Leal
3
3
0
0
0
0
Esezi Otomewo
3
2
0
2
0
0
Mark Robinson
3
2
0
0
0
0
Eku Leota
3
2
0
1
0
0
Julius Welschof
3
2
0
1
0
0
Mikey Victor
3
2
0
0
0
0
Brandin Echols
3
0
0
0
0
0
Logan Lee
3
0
0
0
0
0
Daniel Ekuale
2
2
0
0
0
0
Isaiahh Loudermilk
2
1
0
0
0
0
D’Shawn Jamison
2
1
0
0
0
1
Sebastian Castro
2
1
0
0
0
0
Domenique Davis
2
1
0
0
0
0
Daryl Porter Jr.
2
1
0
0
0
0
Kyler Baugh
1
1
1
1
0
1
Darius Slay
1
1
0
0
0
0
James Pierre
1
1
0
0
1
0
Kyler McMichael
1
1
0
0
0
0
Chuck Clark
1
0
0
0
0
0
DeShon Elliott
1
0
0
0
0
0
Zach Frazier
1
0
0
0
0
0
Evan Hull
1
0
0
0
0
0
Derrick Harmon
1
0
0
0
0
0
Max Hurleman
1
0
0
0
0
0
Kaleb Johnson
1
0
0
0
0
0
Team
80
44
3
10
1
4
Interceptions: James Pierre: 1 INT, 0 return yards (Plummer, red zone)
Sauls handled all four field goal attempts; Boswell kicked the extra point after the McCutcheon touchdown.
Team
Player
FG
PCT
LONG
XP
PTS
Pittsburgh
Ben Sauls
4/4
100.0
50
0/0
12
Pittsburgh
Chris Boswell
0/0
—
—
1/1
1
Carolina
Ryan Fitzgerald
1/1
100.0
43
1/1
4
Sauls field goal distances: 38, 50, 49, 28 yards.
Punting
Team
Player
NO
YDS
AVG
TB
IN 20
LONG
Pittsburgh
Corliss Waitman
1
35
35.0
0
0
35
Pittsburgh
Cameron Johnston
1
33
33.0
0
0
33
Carolina
Sam Martin
3
153
51.0
1
0
55
Kick and Punt Returns
Team
Player
Type
NO
YDS
AVG
LONG
TD
Pittsburgh
Kaleb Johnson
Kick
3
66
22.0
22
0
Pittsburgh
Ke’Shawn Williams
Punt
2
19
9.5
11
0
Carolina
Jimmy Horn Jr.
Kick
3
59
19.7
28
0
Carolina
Trevor Etienne
Kick
1
18
18.0
18
0
Carolina
Trevor Etienne
Punt
1
10
10.0
10
0
Turnovers
Team
Player
Type
Recovered/Returned By
Yards
PIT
Mason Rudolph
INT
Lathan Ransom
16
CAR
Jack Plummer
INT
James Pierre
0
CAR
Bryce Perkins
Fumble Lost
Yahya Black (sack-fumble)
—
Perkins fumbled three times total; Carolina recovered two. Warren fumbled once without losing possession.
Rapoport confirmed the MCL diagnosis the morning after the game and projected a month-long absence; Harmon missed Pittsburgh’s first two regular-season games and did not return to practice until September 17. Steelers wide receiver Brandon Johnson also left in the first half with a foot injury, while Panthers linebacker Princely Umanmielen (right shoulder), running back Raheem Blackshear (ankle) and offensive tackle Ja’Tyre Carter (ankle) all exited with injuries. Pittsburgh and Carolina both opened the 2025 regular season September 7 on the road, with the Steelers visiting the Jets in New York and the Panthers at Jacksonville.
Bobby A. Smith is a Senior Sports Analyst with over nine years of professional experience, specializing in forensic analysis of game strategy and player performance.
His work provides a definitive lens on a broad spectrum of professional sports, delivering expert commentary on the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, Soccer, Boxing, Cricket, F1, and NASCAR. Unlike surface-level reporting, Bobby’s analysis is known for identifying the critical, game-deciding patterns that raw statistics often obscure. Every article is grounded in rigorous, fact-based research and an unwavering commitment to journalistic integrity.
